Ivan Leshinsky: A real late bloomer

The last time we looked, Ivan Leshinsky was still playing basketball. Competitively.

That may not sound unusual, but Leshinsky was performing in the National Senior Games.

He and his teammates performed in the 74-to-79-year-old category.

And if you were in Pittsburgh watching, that was Leshinsky — at 76 — wearing additional knee braces and ankle supports.

“I’m still pretty banged up and recovering from the games,” he told the Eagle the other day. “I took some bad falls.”

His team took some falls, too.

His Bykota (Md.) squad came in fifth out of 13 teams in his category.

“I can still do it,” Leshinsky said. “I still have my hook shot.”

The Senior Games and Ivan Leshinsky were made for each other. In fact, this was the fifth go-round for the Midwood High School grad. “I’ve played in Houston, Minneapolis, Cleveland and Birmingham,” he said.

The tournament, he said, is a half-court game, with two 15-minute halves. “The last two minutes are running time,” he said.

And some of the rules are quirky, he said. “If you’re fouled in the act of shooting, the shooting team keeps possession of the basketball.”

But no one is really surprised that Leshinsky is playing basketball in his senior years. Let’s face it — he was a late-bloomer. He probably has plenty of gas left in his tank.

He didn’t start at Midwood until his senior year. So it’s really no surprise to see the big 6-foot-6 former LIU star playing in the National Senior Games.

The kid who grew up living on Avenue J and Ocean Avenue and later attended P.S. 193 became a basketball star.

But it took time — a long time.

“As a senior at Midwood,” he said, “I must’ve weighed about 170 dripping wet. And I was already 6-foot-6.”

Yet, the 1963 grad was the most improved on that ballclub, leading the squad in scoring and…